Saudi colonel killed on Yemen border

A senior Saudi officer and another soldier have been killed along the border with Yemen, the interior ministry says.

Saudi Arabian authorities say heavy cross-border fire from Yemen's Houthi rebels has killed a senior border guard commander and a soldier.

Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying that a soldier and Colonel Hassan Ghasoum Ageeli, commander of the Harth border sector in Jazan province were both killed by heavy fire coming from inside Yemen. Four other soldiers were also injured, he added.

Such cross-border firing and shelling have been common since a Saudi-led coalition began a campaign of airstrikes in March against Yemen's Houthis. Saudi, Emirati and other allied ground troops are now trying to retake Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa.